Witcher 2 Studio Approaching Consoles With “Caution”

CD Projekt says The Witcher 2 is “doable” on consoles thanks to the multi-platform technology at use in the new game engine, but the studio is taking a cautious approach because it’s never actually made a console game before.

There’s been a lot of talk about bringing The Witcher 2 to consoles. A console version of the original game, entitled Rise of the White Wolf, was in the works but ground to a halt in April 2009. The lack of a comparably deep, gritty RPG setting has kept interest in a console version of the sequel running high but while CD Projekt has said in the past that it could happen, there are also a good number of reasons why it might not.

Technologically, the new engine is quite capable of running with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, according to senior producer Tomasz Gop. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure one day The Witcher 2 will be released on the current generation of consoles,” he told Eurogamer. “We already have performed a lot of tests. We’re doing a reality check every half a year or so. We take a level from the game and we try to put it inside our engine, because it’s console capable on Xbox 360 and PS3.”

Gop said that if a console version of the game is made, it would be out within “a matter of months” of the PC release. But the focus right now is solely on the PC and he “strongly encouraged” gamers to opt for that version, even if they own a console. He also cited “time, people and money” as the big limitations on the development of console versions of the game, along with the fact that CD Projekt doesn’t want to rush headlong into unfamiliar territory.

“We have not released any console games yet,” he added. “That’s why we’re approaching this topic with even more caution.”

Despite the hesitation, CD Projekt CEO Marcin Iwinski echoed Gop’s remark that a lot of gamers don’t play on PCs anymore. “We know how many players, especially in the U.K. as well as in the U.S., play on Xbox 360,” he said. “We are pretty good at maths.”

The Witcher 2 is slated for release on May 17, 2011.